Gene expression and proper downstream cellular functions upon facing environmental shifts depend on the combined and cooperative regulation of genetic networks. Here, we identified cAMP receptor protein (CRP) as a master regulator of (p)ppGpp (guanosine tetra- and penta-phosphate) homeostasis. Via CRP-mediated direct transcriptional regulation of the (p)ppGpp synthetase/hydrolase RelA and SpoT, cAMP-CRP stimulates pervasive accumulation of (p)ppGpp under glucose-limiting conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCyclic purine nucleotides are important signal transduction molecules across all domains of life. 3',5'-cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) has roles in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, while the signals that adjust intracellular c-di-AMP and the molecular machinery enabling a network-wide homeostatic response remain largely unknown. Here, we present evidence for an acetyl phosphate (AcP)-governed network responsible for c-di-AMP homeostasis through two distinct substrates, the diadenylate cyclase NA ntegrity canning protein (DisA) and its newly identified transcriptional repressor, DasR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The mortality of critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation (MV) is high and few strategies are available. We explored the relationship between ondansetron pre-treatment, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mortality of ventilated patients in the intensive care unit.
Methods: We developed a retrospective cohort study that involved patients undergoing MV in the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database.
Five species of Girault & Sanders (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) are studied from mainland China, of which three new species, Xiao & Zhou, , Xiao & Zhou, , Xiao & Zhou, ., and one newly recorded species, Doganlar, are reported. All species have been reared from pupae of Linnaeus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer; owing to low early detection rates and high metastasis rates, it is associated with an extremely poor prognosis. Therefore, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie its metastasis and the identification of potential prognostic biomarkers are urgently required. Although high expression levels of asparaginyl endopeptidase (AEP) have been detected in various types of solid tumor, the expression and functions of AEP in pancreatic carcinomas have yet to be determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfection, neoplasms, and tumor-like lesion in pterygoplatione fossa (PPF) are common in Chinese people. Owing to its deep anatomic location, surgery through this region is difficult. Maxillary sinus pathway is widely used, but the obvious disadvantage of destroying maxillary sinus even disfigurement cannot be avoided.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Different subtypes of idiopathic generalized epilepsy may indicate different mechanisms and outcomes, suggesting that it is necessary to use a 'pure sample' of a single subtype.
Methods: A volumetric study, in conjunction with cognition assessments, was performed in a pure sample of patients with idiopathic generalized tonic-clonic seizures (IGE-GTCS; 15 males and 15 females) matched with normal control subjects (15 males and 17 females). The volumetric measurements were focused on the hippocampus and its surrounding structures, including the amygdala, the parahippocampal gyrus, the entorhinal cortex and the perirhinal cortex.
In this paper, a fast automatic precision approaching system is developed for electrochemical nanofabrication using visual and force-displacement sensing. Before the substrate is fabricated, the template should approach the substrate accurately to establish the initial gap between the template and substrate. During the approaching process, the template is first quickly moved towards the substrate by the stepping motor until a specified gap is detected by the visual feedback.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
December 2011
While longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have demonstrated progressive gray matter reduction of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) during the early phases of schizophrenia, it remains largely unknown whether other temporal lobe structures also exhibit similar progressive changes and whether these changes, if present, are specific to schizophrenia among the spectrum disorders. In this longitudinal MRI study, the gray matter volumes of the fusiform, middle temporal, and inferior temporal gyri were measured at baseline and follow-up scans (mean inter-scan interval=2.7 years) in 18 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 13 patients with schizotypal disorder, and 20 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
January 2011
An enlarged volume of the pituitary gland has been reported in the schizophrenia spectrum, possibly reflecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hyperactivity. However, it remains largely unknown whether the pituitary size longitudinally changes in the course of the spectrum disorders. In the present study, longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained from 18 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 13 patients with schizotypal disorder, and 20 healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have demonstrated progressive gray matter reduction of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) during the early phases of schizophrenia, it remains unknown whether patients with schizotypal features exhibit similar STG changes. In this study, longitudinal MRI data were obtained from 18 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 13 patients with schizotypal disorder, and 20 healthy controls. The volumes of the STG and its subregions [planum polare (PP), Heschl gyrus (HG), planum temporale (PT), rostral STG, and caudal STG] were measured on baseline and follow-up (mean: 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMorphologic abnormalities of the insular cortex have been described in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, but it remains unclear whether these changes predate the onset of psychosis or develop progressively over the course of illness. In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the gray matter volume of the long and short insular cortices in 97 neuroleptic-naïve individuals at ultra-high-risk (UHR) for developing psychosis [of whom 31 (32%) later developed psychosis (UHR-P) and 66 (68%) did not (UHR-NP)] and 55 age- and gender-matched healthy comparisons. We also conducted a longitudinal comparison of the insular cortex gray matter changes in 31 UHR individuals (20 UHR-NP and 11 UHR-P) and 20 controls for whom follow-up MRI data between 1 and 4 years later were available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
December 2008
The present study investigated the relationship between memory strategy use and prefrontal gray/white matter volumes of healthy control subjects, patients with schizophrenia or schizotypal disorder. Gray/white matter volumes were measured for the superior, middle, inferior, ventral medial and orbital prefrontal regions, using high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images that were acquired from 35 patients with schizophrenia, 25 patients with schizotypal disorder and 19 healthy subjects. Participants were also administered the Japanese Verbal Learning Test (JVLT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbnormal neurodevelopment in midline structures such as the adhesio interthalamica (AI), as well as in the medial temporal lobe structures has been implicated in schizophrenia, while its genetic mechanism is unknown. This magnetic resonance imaging study investigated the effect of the genotypic combination of the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) Ser9Gly and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphisms on the AI length and volumetric measures of the medial temporal lobe structures (amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus) in 33 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy controls. The subjects with a combination of the Ser/Ser genotype of DRD3 and Met-containing genotypes of BDNF (high-risk combination) had a shorter AI than those without it in the healthy controls, but not in the schizophrenia patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate the relation between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism and volumetric measurements for the medial temporal lobe structures (amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus) and prefrontal sub-regions (the superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, ventral medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and straight gyrus) in a Japanese sample of 33 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy subjects. For the controls, the Met carriers had significantly smaller parahippocampal and left superior frontal gyri than the Val homozygotes. The schizophrenia patients carrying the Met allele had a significantly smaller right parahippocampal gyrus than those with the Val/Val genotype, but the genotype did not affect the prefrontal regions in schizophrenia patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbnormal neurodevelopment in midline structures such as the adhesio interthalamica (AI) has been reported in schizophrenia, but not consistently replicated. We investigated the prevalence and anterior-posterior length of the AI in 62 schizophrenia patients (32 males, 30 females) and 63 healthy controls (35 males, 28 females) using magnetic resonance imaging. We also explored the relation between the AI and volumetric measurements for the third ventricle, medial temporal structures (amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus), superior temporal sub-regions, and frontal lobe regions (prefrontal area and anterior cingulate gyrus).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
August 2007
A longer duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) in schizophrenia is reported to lead to a poorer clinical outcome, possibly reflecting a neurodegenerative process after the onset of overt psychosis. However, the effect of DUP on brain morphology in schizophrenia is still poorly understood. In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the relation between DUP and volumetric measurements for the superior temporal sub-regions (Heschl's gyrus, planum temporale, and caudal superior temporal gyrus), the medial temporal lobe structures (hippocampus and amygdala), and the frontal lobe regions (prefrontal area and anterior cingulate gyrus) in a sample of 38 schizophrenia patients (20 males and 18 females) whose illness duration was less than five years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere has been little attention given to whether parietal lobe structural deficits are present in patients with schizophrenia and related personality disorders. The current study was designed to examine parietal volume alterations between schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder. Twenty-five patients with schizotypal disorder, 53 patients with schizophrenia, and 59 healthy volunteers were scanned using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
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